Friday, October 7, 2011

Good news everybody!

Cycle 14 CD 17
 
Ok got a pos OPK Wednesday CD 15 at noon, then again later that evening, and again Thursday morning and still positive, but then negative at noon. So that was my 12 hour surge, which means I O’d (ovulated)!!! We got lots of BD’s in there even meeting for lunch Tuesday and Thursday. I’ve having trouble with my BBT because I sleep walk and find myself up out of bed at 2 & 4am when I’m supposed to be sleeping and taking my resting body temp at 6am.
 
All my tests so far have come back and I have an “abundance” of good follicles, no visible masses or cysts, and all my hormone levels are good. I’m going back for a progesterone test on CD21 and then one more a week after that. I’m both relieved and frustrated with these results. I’m glad I’m healthy and my reproductive system seems to be functioning properly, but then why haven’t we gotten pregnant for 13 cycles?? Ok I’ll knock a few off for poor timing, and I may have not O’d one cycle (when I had a cyst rupture) but that still leaves about 7 cycles that we timed everything right. The conditions were perfect and nothin. As I said before when DH finishes all is well. His swimmers are strong and plentiful. Honestly if we had “x” problem it would be somewhat of a relief, more than the unknown.
 
The next test will see if my tubes are blocked by using a dye injection (sounds cool and sciencey).

Saturday, October 1, 2011

TTC Recap June - September 2011

More ramblings from my KTTC forum:

June 9, 2011
Pregnant Women are Smug

June 14, 2011
Is it possible to have EWCM and regular “creamy” CM at the same time? Hope to BD tonight. Horrible nightmares last night about women giving birth in the school cafeteria and me having a still born

June 16, 2011
well I think the reason i had EWCM was because I was getting a cold, I’ve been sick for the last couple days and generally snotty, feeling much better today, really need to BD as it is CD13 and we’ve yet to do that :-(

June 18, 2011
Gahhh, where to begin? Today was father’s day lunch with DH’s family. MIL brings in all the cards and gifts and puts them in front of FIL, but leaves our card sitting in the other room. DH mentions it, and she says “oh I didn’t know who that was for” ???? So she grabs it and gives it to me…? So I give it to FIL. He opens the card and gift from MIL, one from SIL and family (a shirt with all her kid’s names on it, something like “grandpa’s team”) then completely ignores ours. It’s like because we haven’t given them any grandchildren we don’t count.
Also, all my SIL drives me nuts! Everytime I’m holding her baby, she constantly says “here give him to me so you can sit down/eat/dink/relax” or “you want me to take him?” No, I’m fine! I’ve babysat since I was 12 (that’s almost 20 years!) newborns-preteens. If I’m holding the baby it’s because I want to. He’s cute, I love babies, and I don’t get to see him much. If I wanted to sit/eat/relax I would, and I could do so while I’m holding the baby.
Does she think I’m completely incompetent? Does she not trust me? My nephew lived with me for the first year of his life, I’m quite capable. It wouldn’t be so bad if she did this while the grandparents other aunts and uncles where holding him, but it’s just me. Is it just because I’m not a mother myself, she thinks I can’t handle it?
Also, we offer to babysit her kids all the time, but she always declines, and says “oh you guys don’t have to do that” or “you dont’ know what you’re getting into” really? like I said lots of babysitting under my belt, one summer it was me and a family of 5 children ages 2-8, and we all came out of it alive and I was only 15 then. I like kids, I’m good with kids. Today at lunch she says how they’re going out for their anniversaryl and her husband’s sister is watching the kids, so it’s not like they don’t ever go out and leave their kids with a babysitter, for some reason just not us.
Also she sends DH (her brother) father’s day cards to “a great uncle of father’s day” which i think is kinda silly, but if he gets one, why don’t I on mother’s day, it’s not like DH sees the kids any more than I do.
DH’s family is good in so many ways, but this kid thing is making me not want to associate with them.
Don’t even get me started on the conversation we ALL had about our baby making. They (MIL, SIL, BIL, and FIL) corner us in the kitchen and asked a bunch of questions, shared all their unwanted, BS advice about relaxing and “letting it happen” that’s how it worke for them and now look they all have plently of kids. GAAHHHH! Just shoot me now

June 22, 2011
All right here we are again, BD CD13,14,15 and 18, think I O’d on CD 15, really wish I was just pregnant already so I could stop sucking in my belly
Eta we also tried instead soft cups this time

June 26, 2011
(implantaion?) spotting on 7dpo. 8dpo now, must wait to test

June 28, 2011
10Dpo af due 2-3 days, think I will break down and test today

June 29, 2011
CD26 spotting and cramps poas not pregnant again, guess I’m still just fat. Next month will be our last try before we look into more testing. We’re still gonna use instead and shoot for o week, but we’re getting frustrated!

July 5, 2011
July 2011 officially marks our one year point of “trying”. I look back at when we started, so bright eyed and bushy tailed. That seems so long ago, so far away. I feel like our spirit has been broken. On the other hand I also feel we’ve learned so much. I’ve learned a great deal about myself, my body, the human reproduction system. When we first started we thought we’d just “let it happen” if it didn’t happen right away, no big deal, we were enjoying just being together, just the two of us. Now I want to be a mother. I want us to be a family. I want it more than anything.
I feel I’ve aged a decade over the last year. I’m worn out, but wiser. Both DH and I have both calmed down and gotten more domestic. We have become such a great team, crying on eachother’s shoulder, holding eachother up, making eachother laugh, making a home together.
So now for this month’s game plan: instead softcups again, OPKs, temps, maybe try using the softcups as a recepticle and then inserting them since volume may be an issue with DH, as always I’ll keep you posted

I try really hard not to dwell on this stuff too much
Ditto.
If you know me in real life you don’t even know we’re really trying. I fawn over friend’s/family’s pregnancies/babies and then cry myself to sleep. I work a lot, keep busy with hobbies, stay active and busy trying to keep my mind off of it. It’s just really hard that first day of AF and especially that night :-(
We’ve just got to keep at it though, right? We’re all in this together, and that helps.

July 11, 2011
OPK still (-) twiddling my thumbs here

July 12, 2011
OPK right when I wake up in the morning and right after lunch for the last couple of days, both say (-) dooooo doo dooo, just waiting here.

July 13, 2011
Maybe got a (+) the lines is just about as dark as the control, LOTS of EWCM, so we’re going for it tonight!

July 14, 2011
Even though it hasn’t gone exactly how I originally planned, I’m still glad I waited. I didn’t get knocked up as a teenager or even in my 20’s like it seems everyone else I know did. I waited until I settled down, found Mr Right, and felt ready to start trying to make a baby. I do not regret this decision.
I can’t imagine life if I had bore the seed of some of my exes, they were not always good people/boyfriends I can’t imagine the horrible fathers they would have made.
I also hear friends who had children very young talking about it resentfully, like it stole thier youth/body. I, on the other hand rocked a sexy bikini body in my late teens to mid twenties, traveled around the world, partied for days on end and worked on establishing my career.
Now that that’s out of my system I feel “ready” to have kids. I grew out of that stage in my life on my own not because I got knocked up and had to grow up. So even when I feel resentfull of all my “mom” friends I remind myself that this was my plan all along, and it’s just taking a little longer.

July 18, 2011
I’m here now, pretty sure I O’d between CD12-14. We did something very unromantic this time, DH splooged in a softcup and then I inserted it. I know it sounds horrible, but it’s the only way to guarantee the small amount got where it needed to go. (DH has low volume and just inserting the softcup after BD didn’t secure it all. We did make love a couple times in there too with lots of foreplay, so it wasn’t completely clinical and cold, but still felt silly for both of us.

July 19, 2011
Can I revive this thread? I would like to lay claim names, before they are all stolen by friends and family. How do I do this? It’s not like you can pee on them to mark them as your own. I’ve had several names just blantently snatched up, one girl even said something like “I know this was gonna be your girl name, but we really like it.” plus it was a family name, now we are out of luck. Are we doomed to have the leftover scraps of names since we can’t get knocked up before everyone else?
eta
plus it was a family name
I should mention it was my beloved grandmother’s name. My friend knew her and knew that I’ve always wanted to name a DD after her

I love the name Amelia, but have way too many “Amy’s” around to use that nickname. Does your daughter go by Amy? DH likes the nickname “Mellie”
ps I really like the name “Rain/Rayne”

My middle name is my grandmother’s name. My cousin used it for her girls middle name, but spelled it wrong. When she emailed me to tell me what that they were planning on naming her after Grandma, I corrected her on the spelling, and she said it was just a typo, but low and behold a few months later the birth announcement had the name spelled wrong again. It seems like a slap in the face. It’s part of my name so I know how to spell it, not to mention the fact that grandma pretty much raised me while my cousin lived 1000 miles away. Grrr, it probably shouldn’t bother me, but it does
Eta at least it’s family

July 20, 2011
Agree (100) Phonetic, made up spellings and names bother me too.
In my cousin’s case she didn’t seem to know how to spell Grandma’s name, so I don’t think she intentionally changed it. It’s like she didn’t care enough to get it right, it doesn’t seem so much like an ”honor” if you misspell it

July 25, 2011
BBs have been sore, like really sore, for the last few days. Usually they are only sore a couple days before AF, and that’s not due for a few days. I’m breaking out too. POAS twice (yesterday and Saturday) both times were (-) so mmmm. But I was only 7-9 DPO (never got a really clear positive OPK) guess I’ll just have to wait and see. I did buy more OPKs last night, so hopefully that will jinx me :-)
Spotting and cramps, AF will be here tomorrow :-(

what to do next? I’ve charted, used OPKs. I have regular cycles with clear temp shifts, cm, and LH surges and always had regular paps. DH had normal SA, neither of us are especially unhealthy, maybe I’m 10lbs and he’s 20 lbs over weight, but not enough that it should matter. I take prenatal vitamins, only half a cup of coffee on weekdays. What are we doing wrong? And if I hear one more person say ”of course you’ll get pregnant, even crack heads get pregnant” I’m going to shoot them! Really you’re comparing me to a crackhead? And what if I can’t conceive I should start smoking crack?

July 27, 2011
I’m on CD26 my cycles avg 27 days and I’m Confused. Monday I had my usual pre-AF brown spotting, then yesterday was the same with a few drops of bright red, then this morning only one drop of bright red. Usually my cycle is so predictable: 2-3 days brown spotting followed by one day of a consistent light red flow, then 1-2 days medium-heavy red flow followed by 1-2 days light red consistent flow, then tapering off to brown spotting for another 1-2 days. I don’t know if it’s just because I’m used to using liners and tampons and this time I’m using the soft cup, so it seems different, but it’s very weird.
eta correct avg cycle length

July 29, 2011
well, I’m back here again… really got motivated to get in shape this morning, unfortunately it was on my way to work… in an office… until 6:30pm… and we have dinner plans after work. So my actual working out will have to come tomorrow afternoon, hope I’m still motivated then :-/
eta if it’s not baby fat, it’s not as cute :-/ DH has been talking about getting in shape too, so maybe if we do this together it’ll work this time. I hate working out, so I have to trick myself into it by doing fun things that are still active and healthy (biking, walking, dancing, etc)

August 9, 2011
We’re doing science over here using softcups. it’s not romantic, but it’s the only way to be sure things get to where they need to be on the days it needs to be there. started on CD10, today is CD13

We’ve been talking about this too. We’ve been TTC for 13 months now. We don’t have a lot of savings to spend on expensive treatments or adoption right now.
Honestly if it weren’t so expensive/complicated I would’ve adopted right off the bat, now i’m finding that TTC is going to be expensive/complicated too.
I think we are going to continue trying for another five months, and then re-evaluate.
We’re saving money to buy a new house. Currently we are living in a lower income area and would like to be in a bit better neighborhood for raising children, but with the housing market the way it is, I don’t know how we’ll ever sell our house. So there’s been talk about using that money to do IVF. Then start saving again for later on when the babe is school age and then we can move.
Also there’s a possiblity we’ll just stop TTC and instead save money like crazy to move to a nicer nieghborhood and adopt when we’re about 40
I don’t think I can ever just resolve to be childless, where there is a will there is a way.

Not so much a vent, but I’m really freaked out. I’ve been having a wierd pang of pain in my right ovary, I thought it was O pain, but I noticed it throughout my last cycle. I also found a bump next to my cervix. I have an appt with my OB/GYN, but it’s not until end of September. I wonder what’s going on with me… nervous, scared, anxious.

August 12, 2011
Ok here I am CD16 we’ve done soft cups every day since CD10, going strong!

August 14, 2011
All right I’m here cd18, pretty sure I O’d onCD14. Going to the drs tuesday for my pains and lump think I’ll have them test my progesterone too just to be safe

Couldn’t get into my obgyn but got into my reg dr hopefully she can do us and check my progesterone

August 16, 2011
Well I went to my dr about my pains which said was probably just my ovaries working. She was surprised to hear that I was checking my own cervix and said that could be bad, causing infection… but didn’t check my lump or do an US. she said the Gyno should check all those things even though I told her I couldn’t get into my Gyno for a month and a half.
So basically it was a pointless visit, I’m about 6DPO, please oh please let me be pregnant so I tell my dr that all my charting and cervical checking paid off

August 17, 2011
i posted some of this in the 2ww thread, but it’s really more of a vent. Myy regular dr has been doing my regular well woman’s check up for the last couple years since my ob/gyn moved out of town. I’ve got an appt with a new ob/gyn but not until end of september. So I went to my regular dr about my pelvic pains which said was probably just my ovaries working. I tolder her I found a lump next to my cervix. She was surprised to hear that I was checking my own cervix and said that could be bad, causing infection… She also didn’t care about any of my charts or thourough investigation I’ve done on fertility.
She didn’t check my lump or do an US. she said the Gyno should check all those things and I should let her know when the gyno says… I hope she gives me better feed back on my charts
So basically it was a pointless visit

Yeah I wish my gp would’ve told me to just go to a Gyno a long time ago. Of the 11 paps I’ve had 9 of them have been with my gp. They were always normal so they said I didn’t need an on/gyn. Now that we’re having trouble ttc she’s referred me over. Oh well now from here on out I’ll have a hooha specialist! :-) I’m a new patient so maybe that’s why I can’t get in right away. Maybe I’ll try a different dr

AF Due in 7 days…
we had very successful “BD” on days -4-3-2-1 O +1+2+3+4 That’s a perfect score! Never done that before! Come on science don’t fail me now!!!! ;-)

August 18, 2011
aprox 8DPO, sore boobs, that’s AF/PMS sympton #1, booooo
eta and break outs double booooo

we didn’t acually BD every time we used soft cups. It was more science that romance, so not sore or exhausted. That’s part of the reason we didn’t BD much, DH gets so hot and tired he doesn’t always finish.

August 19, 2011
I know several girls that got pregnant “accidentally” while on the pill. I know for a fact that my best friend was very lax about taking it, and another was on antibiotics, but I don’t know about the other one. I know I was pretty careful with my pills, but did miss day here and there and would just double up, no pregnancies for me… now I’m wondering if it was the pills or just me :-/ I really wonder how (in)effective the pill can be or is it just that some people are super fertile/careless about taking the pill/or other drug interactions… mmm ponder

August 21, 2011
CD 25 no spotting… Getting hopeful!

August 22, 2011
well PISS! I’m out, spotting and cramps 12DPO AF will be here in a couple days. Damn it! I really had high hopes, even had dreams that it was a boy with dark hair, how can I mourn someone that never existed?

August 25, 2011
ok got an appointment with my ob/gyn next tuesday to discuss fertility, get my pains and lump checked out. I’m really nervous but I feel good about taking action. Finally getting som official/professional advice. I feel like I’ve done everything in my power to take charge of my fertility (prenatal vitamins, charting, BDing, etc) and now I need to take that extra step.

I’m really excited and nervous about our plan of action this cycle! I have an appt with my ob/gyn tuesday. I’m going to have her test my progesterone and do an US and whatever other tests she thinks would be good. Then depending on the findings I guess she’ll put me on drugs or suggest IVF or tell us to start saving our pennies to adopt.
Honestly this is not the way I thought things would go. When we started this whole thing I thought we concieve naturally in a few months, But having a definitive solutions will make me feel better. I don’t like the waiting, wondering, up in the air feeling. We will be parents… oh yes we will :-)

August 31, 2011
Ok my gyno said the lump feels ok. She said it could be anything from a lymphnode to a bloodvessel. Just to watch to see if it gets bigger. The pain in my right ovary she thinks is a ruptured cyst. She was very impressed with all the research and steps we’ve taken on our own. She agreed that it might just be our lack of hitting “green days” and low volume on DH’s part, but just to be sure they are going to start a fertility screening work up next cycle on CD 3 starting with a scan for follicles, then clomid, then blood tests, then more tests, then a dye to make sure there are no clogs in my falopian tubes, then if all that checks out we’ll be referred to an RE for the next step. This feels good to be taking the next step. I feel more incontrol even though i know i’m not ;-)

September 1, 2011
Right now on CD9 will start “BDing” again tomorrow and every day until CD18. I really hope to catch this cycle so I can cancel my fertility testing for next month and instead have my first pregnancy check up :-)

September 6, 2011
two bd’s today but a Negative opk
Holy EWCM batman!
uploaded image
Too bad DH and I are stuck at work until 5pm, but we sure are going to BD when we get home!
I was just so proud of all that fertile CM, I had to share.

September 7, 2011
THIS makes me crazy!
First all these little secret games people play just make me feel left out like in gradeschool when the mean girls would have some inside joke and not tell me then laugh at me when I didn’t know.
Second I have a girl friend that pretends to be pregnant. She thinks it’s funny to post it on April 1st, or “opposite day” I get very upset because she’s already had two unplanned pregancies and has not been financially stable or in a stable relationship and I’ve had to help her a lot. WTF is she doing getting pregnant again? Then when I ask her, she says “hell no i’m not pregnant! i would kill myself if i was!”… Wow, just, Wow! Plus she knows what I’ve been going through, not as much as you folks, but she knows we’re trying.
Then I have another friend who’s on her 5th unplanned pregnancy and going for her 4th abortion and again is really flip about it, like she’s got an ant infestation in her house and just going to call an exterminator. I really avoid these girls these days, and instead hang with my more responsible, sensitive friends

September 9, 2011
Realized some of the OPKs I was using expired in 2008… Bought a fresh batch a couple days ago, still not getting a +, but thinking I might have used one of the expired ones on the days I should have gotten a +. We made sure semen and cervix met on CD 10-16, I usually O around CD14, so I think we’ve done our part.

September 10, 2011
I’m gonna park it over here. I had EWCM and O pains on CD14, we hit CD 10,11,12,13,14,15,16,&17 with the S-Cup full of semen on my cervix, so now we wait. If it didn’t work, it’s sure not for lack of trying
Question: Can you have crazy EWCM without Ovulating?

September 13, 2011
Ok I’m here now AF due in 7 days. Had a odd feeling in my loins today…
soooo I had this crazy dream that zombies were taking over the town and I saw this as a perfect oportunity to “adopt” a baby. I found one that had been abandoned by her zombie mom. I snatched her up and taught her to call me mommy. Does this make me a psychopath? yeah I’m pretty sure it does. Also I have a vague memory of the zombie mom being the lady who has 19 (and counting) kids, so she’s got plenty to spare anyway :-/

September 19, 2011
took two tests, both negative, the slightest spotting today, so AF will probably be here in a couple days, which is good, it just means we can do the follicle test on CD3. I’m anxious to find out what the hell is going on.

My mom had te nerve to tell me that I’m not getting pregnant because of our dogs… See she stayed the night and we hadn’t walked the dogs so they woke up really early. I don’t mind, we take turns getting up with them and then go back to bed. But she said the stress is preventing me from getting pregnant. That my body is telling me I have too much responsibility already. I don’t feel stressed, I love my dogs. They comfort me every mOnth when I get my BFN and if it were true that u couldn’t get pregnant while stressed, or getting up early o care for a living creature, then how does anyone with children get pregnant? I know she doesn’t know how much her advice bothers me. I asked her what her solution was. Does she want to adopt the dogs? No. Then I guess we’re keeping them. Also we’ve been on a couple vacations far away from the dogs and never got knocked up then either. Grrrrr
Eta
Dear Mom,
You know if having a small creature wake u up  prevented pregnancy DB would never have been born. Or any other 2nd 3rd 4th etc child.
Also it’s an old wive’s tale that stress prevents pregnancy. Women in way more stressful situations than I (war zones, 5 kids, abusive relationships, stressful jobs) get pregnant.
My dogs are my comfort every month when my period shows up uninvited. I love them. They don’t wake us up that early most of the time, just an hour before our alarm goes off and we take turns getting up with them. We’re used to it. It doesn’t stress us. It’s part of our routine.
I feel u undermine what we’re going through when u suggest that there’s something I’m doing or choosing that’s causing us not to get pregnant
We’re doing everything right. We didn’t start off stressed. We ”just relaxed” (the worst cliche u can say to an infertile btw) for the first 6 months and it still didn’t work. We’ve been on vacation miles away from the dogs and still nothing.
I started tracking my cycle to see when/if I’m ovulating so that we make sure to bone on the right days. When that didn’t work, DH got checked. It’s not him so it must be me. I’m on vitamins, I eat pretty healthy, been exercising more, so I’m doing all I can. Now I’m stressed. And all the input from everyone telling me to ”relax” doesn’t help
This is really hard for me and I need your support. But I can’t have u suggesting preposterous, unwarranted, invalid things and cliches. I’m a smart girl and I’m trying to be reasonable about this, but it’s not  easy when we’ve been trying, relaxing, and whatever for 16 months and everyone around me tells me how they got knocked up so easily and everything I am doing wrong is preventing it.
I love u
Please research infertility and then Instead of giving me advice or cliches just be there for me during this confusing, uncertain, stressful, difficult time in my life

Sooo they said I’m too have a follicle us on CD3 but the us lady is only ther on tuesday wtf? That will be tomorrow and cd1. Have any of u ha this scan? Will it work on cd1 or should I
Go somewhere else on cd3?

September 22, 2011
I’m sure I’m being overly sensitive but I just called to finalize my appt for u/s & blood work and she asked if I could be there at 7:30am or if I had LOs to get on the bus or off to school. I said ”no I’m actually coming in for infertility so not having a LO to pit on the bus or take to school is the problem” I hope I sounded just snarky enough.
Question: she’s giving me clomid, is that normal? I’ve had no signs that I’m not ovulating.

This is where I started my blog :-) 

not mine

Cycle 14 CD11

My best friend got pregnant with her son when we were 20. She didn’t have much family and the little she had was ill. Her “baby daddy” was in rehab and then prison. So I gladly stepped up to help her. I was there when he was born. I drove him to doctor appointments. I watched him take his first steps. I taught him to count. I fed, bathed, and clothed him. We used to joke that we were such a cute family (a lesbian couple and our baby). I loved him like my own, but he was not my own.  Then my friend met someone and they moved in together and they didn’t really need me anymore. I still love her son, and he loves me, but he’s not mine. I don’t get to send him off for his first day of school, or help him with homework, or teach him to ride a bike. I don’t get the joy of coming home from work to his stories and hugs. I don’t get to tuck him in at night. I don’t have a say in how he is raised, or what he wears, or what he is exposed to, and I feel resentment about this. I know it’s crazy, but I helped to rear a child for the first 3 years of his life I got attached, and now it’s just gone.

My fertile friends often say things along the lines of “if you need a kid, you can take mine.”  It’s not a funny jest. If someone really wants to give me a baby, I’ll take it! Let’s sign the adoption papers. To the best of my abilities I will make sure he is taught proper English. I will not let him watch any movies or play any video games or listen to music with inappropriate content for his age.  I will teach him to do chores. I will take him fishing and camping. I will raise him the way I want to raise a child. But when I say I want a baby of my own to raise and love and people offer me their cursing, slovenly, disrespectful 10 year old and tell me this will make not want kids, it just angers me.

I also find that in being there for friends and family’s children (which I have several times) I feel like I’ve put my own family on hold. First it was my best friend, then my brother (another “surprise” baby when the parents weren’t in a place financially or emotionally, so they he and the baby lived with us) then my best friend again (second baby daddy ended up being a dead beat too and I stepped up and help financially). Now ten years since the first baby that wasn’t mine; I’ve put so much time and effort into these kids and I want one of my own.